Back to the Futurecraft

Here is the one-page summary of my project:

Laptop for Life

A brain dump of ideas for the movie:

The movie:

Two take away points for further work after the final presentation/review:
-how would people react to using the laptop in foreign ways in a public setting?
-how can the shape and form of the laptop be rethought to better fit how people use and interact with their computing in everyday life?

Taking apart laptops

View the Flickr slideshow to see the product autopsy of 3 laptops I received for free (off the reuse list at MIT). I dont want to bore you with too many pictures of the insides of a laptop. At the end are 2 laptops that have been given a black rubber foam as a screen (thanks Leo) and outfitted with various items.

The first is a Japanese themed one. A pocket knife to catch fish with, a sushi box to eat it, and postcards to remind you of Japan. The other is one for a student, with various elements to help you survive the day.

I wasnt able to do so for the project, but it would be interesting to see people’s reaction to it in lecture or at Starbucks or any other public place.

Comments on taking apart the laptops
Who knows how many chemicals I exposed myself to in taking apart the laptops? It was a lot of fun and a challenge to figure out how to take apart each of the thinkpads. Each had its own tricks to unlock the next layer of the laptop. It was also interesting to see the different ways the two halves of the laptop were hinged. I overestimated the amount of usable space in the laptop without destroying the structure in the bottom half. Usually, the keyboard, computer chips, etc. are there to provide the support, but when you take it out, you need to rely on the various posts and bolts to keep the structure strong.

References/inspiration, among many sources:

Design Noir and Hertzian Space, Dunne and Raby, as mentioned in previous post.

Reading John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity (no, not just because he is a reviewer tomorrow. I read this book a year ago)

From the Digital Media Class at the University of the Arts in Berlin, a series entitled “Analog Laptop Extension”.

Handout, video, photos of taken apart laptops soon to come, after the final presentation.

Detechnologizing. Form (sort of).